


Afraid to Make it Real

by jesstdotson



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Feelings Realization, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Mid-Canon, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24740119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesstdotson/pseuds/jesstdotson
Summary: This is just a sweet little A/A mashup that chronicles the times they grow closer together in the moments between episodes.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Abed Nadir
Comments: 20
Kudos: 123





	1. Changes

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is in Abed’s POV and takes place right after Season 3’s “Virtual Systems Analysis.”

He was making buttered noodles when he first realized it. Exhausted from the dreamatorium over their extended lunch, a new thought sparked into his head as he poured the strained noodles into their bowls.

Something had changed with him and Annie.

It was almost like what he had with Troy but somehow different and yet he couldn’t quite pinpoint where the difference was. Abed shuffled to find the chopsticks as he contemplated. With both Troy and Annie, it was more than just feeling like he could be himself. He could be the best version of himself, a person more connected to others than he had ever felt. They brought out the good in him, and he was pretty sure he helped them to let down their guard as well. But maybe with Troy, sometimes it felt like too much of a good thing made things worse. Too much time indulging each other, and they had to draw a line. Perhaps that was where the difference was? With Annie, more time meant more connecting and more growth. Like the empathy reroute in the dreamatorium, more ways to break out of his shell and expand on what it meant to be himself.

He took the bowls to the couch for the two of them and sat down, Annie cuddling up to his side and smiling as she took her bowl from him. A slight flush appeared across her cheeks as they touched, and Abed wondered if she felt the change too.

~*~

As they met again in the study room for some actual studying, he noticed Annie beaming at him and he couldn’t help but return the expression back. If the study room noted the change, no one spoke it. No, everyone continued to study and banter and nitpick as usual. Finally, when they reached a stopping point, everyone began picking up their things and he found himself hurrying over to Annie’s chair to wait. She smiled back up at him, and as they left, her arm circled around his. So maybe she did notice something. Maybe she understood this better than he did.

Glancing back up, he met Troy’s gaze. He was walking just as closely with Britta. Abed frowned, noting the similarities between Troy and Britta's posturing to his and Annie's, but unsure where to file this new data.

Troy smiled but it didn’t fully reach his eyes. It reminded him of when they were nervously practicing etiquette for the housewarming party. Was he nervous? “Hey Abed, Britta wants to come over and check out more of Inspector Spacetime. Is that okay?”

Abed paused, causing Annie to quit walking as well. “That’s fine. We can start at the reboot.”

Troy’s smile became more genuine with that. “Cool, I’ll just ride with her, you guys go on ahead.”

“Cool.”

As they parted ways, Annie glanced up at Abed. “So...what do you think? Troy and Britta huh?”

Abed pursed his lips. “I don’t know. It’s a strange dynamic. I’ll have to try running more scenarios.”

“Aa-beed. We aren’t supposed to meddle anymore, remember?”

“Oh I’m not meddling. I just don’t know what to think without trying a few with the new empathy modifier. I’m not sure how I’ll think it’ll work out. There isn’t a character that resonates with Britta like Reggie does with Troy so I’m at a loss.”

"What about Carol?"

"No, she's too straight-laced and pragmatic. Not Eve either."

The ride home went by quickly as they discussed different characters in media that they most connected with. Abed found himself alight with the tv talk, and his worries over these changes all but gone completely. As they entered the apartment, Annie raced over to the tv stand to pick out the dvds, and Abed couldn’t help but stand smiling at her, appreciating her energy. 

“Ok, Abed, so we’re starting with the reboot. Are we just gonna do the first episode or should we do that one off that’s really scary?”

“The Spirits? That’s series 3, she’d be totally lost.”

“But it’s such a good episode! And it’s really more from the constable perspective, so she wouldn’t have to know much about the show.”

“But it’s out of order.”

“The whole show’s out of order in time if you want to get technical.”

Just then, Troy and Britta arrived, so Annie launched herself toward the hall. “Troy! What do you say, series 1 episode 1, or should we dive right into the Spirits?”

Troy grinned wide. “Oh, that episode’s so creepy!”

“Right? Abed, see? Troy—“

“Okay, okay,” Abed interrupted. “We can do the Spirits episode, and then if Britta likes it, we can go back to series 1 and watch in order. Cool?”

Annie smiled triumphantly. “Cool!”

Abed and Troy took their seats. Britta pulled up a chair next to Troy’s, but Annie, after grabbing the series 3 dvd and putting it in the player, chose her usual spot perched on Abed’s armrest. Abed instinctively put his hand out toward Annie’s and she took it, smiling and patting at it before turning her eyes back to the screen.

The episode seemed to be a big hit, however, about ten minutes in, Annie nudged Abed. He frowned and looked up at her. She was tilting her head and moving her eyes back toward the kitchen/blanket fort area.

“What?”

Annie shushed and did the motion again.

Abed whispered, “What? I don’t—“

Suddenly, Annie looked over to Troy and Britta, who Abed took note were sitting very closely and murmuring to each other quietly. “Hey, uh, Abed and I need to take care of something. Are you guys ok watching without us?”

“Sure, you two go ahead, we’re good” Troy replied, an odd expression on his face.

“Ok great! Have fun!” Annie rushed, then tugged at Abed’s hand and they were very abruptly leaving and heading for the blanket fort. Once there, she turned to face him, looking a little…embarrassed? “Sorry about that.”

“What did I miss? Was there some social cue I didn’t get just then?”

“I hope you don’t think I’m meddling, but they were getting really cozy in there, and it was just making me…erm..uncomfortable.”

“Oh…were they doing it on purpose?”

“No! I don’t think they were even aware we were in the room, to be honest. But Troy seemed grateful when I spoke up so I think it was the right decision.”

Grateful. That’s what that was. “Got it. So what do we do now?”

“I don’t know! I didn’t think that far!” Annie let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the side of her arm.

Abed had an idea. “Hey, you never ended up watching Cougar Town, did you?”

Annie’s eyes widened with excitement. “No, I haven’t. That sounds great, Abed!”

Smiling, Abed went to retrieve his laptop. “Well I have all of the first season saved on my hard drive. I was afraid I was going to wear out my dvd copies waiting for Season 3.”

“Okay great! Um..” Annie hesitated while looking around the fort. “How should we do this? Maybe…pillows over here near the entrance, against the half wall?”

“And the laptop on our laps?”

“Yeah that should work.”

“Cool cool cool.”

They got to work setting up the area, then Abed plopped down onto the mound of pillows, Annie following shortly. As she settled to see, Abed’s arm was behind her, nestled near her hips, and an alarm started to sound in his brain. Was this too much? He knew that Annie liked to show her feelings physically and they found themselves touching somehow more often than they didn’t, but this felt different. Should he try pulling away? Just as he was about to, Annie leaned back, noticing his arm. But instead of moving or reacting, she simply laced her fingers between his and sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. Deciding it was a worry for another day and filing it away with the data from before, Abed leaned his head against hers and clicked play.

Yes, something had definitely changed between him and Annie. 

~*~

“Hey guys, Britta’s gotta head h--”

Startled, Annie and Abed turned in unison to the blanket fort entrance. There was Troy peeking in with another strange look on his face - this one looked more shocked? - and Britta close behind.

"Oh okay," Annie replied, Abed still lost in thought about what could have caused the expression Troy was making. "Um, we'll just finish this episode and then I'll probably be heading to bed too."

"To your bedroom." Troy stated, an odd tone to his voice. Britta giggled.

" _ Yes, _ Troy."

"Right."

"Right."

With that, Troy shook his head and led the way to the door for Britta. Annie turned back to Abed and the laptop, a little pink. "Let's just--"

"What was that about?"

Annie flushed further and attempted a smile, saying "I'm sure it was nothing," and hit resume.

~*~

Later, after the episode was done and Annie had said her goodnights, Abed began to change for bed. Troy came into the fort to do the same, but he kept glancing at Abed briefly in between movements.

"Well buddy, I'm glad you and Annie had fun today."

"Yeah. It was an experience."

"Was it?" That same odd tone from before.

"It was. She rerouted the dreamatorium schematics to account for more empathy. I was gone for a while, but she brought me back."

Troy smirked. "And just how did she bring you back?"

"She said she needed me. That we had the same fears and needed to work on just 'winging it'." Troy's smirk turned into a full smile. "And then I made us buttered noodles."

"You know she…" Troy hesitated.

"She what?"

Troy began to speak and then stopped himself and just wiped at his face. "Sorry, I think I'm just tired. It's probably nothing. Good night, man." With that, he climbed into his bunk.

"Good night, Troy."


	2. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a series of little moments that take place between “The First Chang Dynasty” and “Introduction to Finality” when Troy is gone to Air Conditioning Repair School, still from Abed’s POV.

Two weeks into Troy’s absence for Air Conditioner Repair School and Abed was having trouble sleeping. Every night he’d turn the tv off, hug Annie goodnight, change into pajamas, and send a text to Troy. The first week Troy automatically responded back, sometimes with tales from his day, sometimes just a simple ‘ _ night buddy’.  _ But this week he wasn’t getting any responses. So Abed’s routine was off, and the blanket fort felt far too quiet without that buzz back.

Saturday midday, he got a rushed ‘ _ sorry, it’s been hectic here, miss ya _ ’ but that was it. He sent a thumbs up, returning to the episode of Inspector Spacetime he’d seen a dozen times over but not really paying attention to it. He considered messaging Annie, but she’d been spending most of her free time in the study room helping Jeff rewrite his notes for the summer class, so she most likely wouldn’t have had time to talk either.

Without either of them there, the old warmth of the apartment was fading fast.

~*~

Three weeks into Troy’s absence and Annie’s preoccupation with Jeff, and Abed was locking himself in the dreamatorium for hours at a time. Running simulation after simulation, rendering environment after environment, scenario after scenario, trying to see if any of the other timelines felt more like home. Panic was beginning to set in as Abed realized no matter the timeline, he couldn’t find one where he was happy.

~*~

One month into Troy’s absence, and Annie found Abed sitting alone in the middle of the dreamatorium one night instead of sleeping. Without saying a word, she disappeared, reappearing a moment later with a spare blanket. She gingerly sat down beside him, placed the blanket around them both, and clutched him at the waist, lowering her head to his shoulder. Still in silence they sat.

When Abed finally dipped his head to rest against hers, Annie gripped him tighter. “I miss him too.”

The next day, Annie didn’t go to meet Jeff or do anything outside of the apartment. She stayed and simply existed beside Abed, working on her courses in advance, reading a novel, browsing the internet on her phone. Without saying anything. But by evening when they gathered to watch tv, she took his hand and squeezed it, and the room felt a little warmer. When Abed turned the tv off and turned to hug her goodnight, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave. But with her went the warmth, and Abed didn’t know what to do, so he reached out and grabbed for her wrist.

Startled, she turned back toward him.

“It’s too quiet. At night.”

Her eyes shone as she understood and nodded. “Let me change. I’ll be right back.”

So Abed changed into pajamas, and texted Troy, and didn’t get a response back, but by then Annie had returned and was climbing into the top bunk. And Abed managed to sleep the whole night anyway.

~*~

One month, one week into Troy’s absence and Annie sleeping in the blanket fort, and Abed realized Annie felt like home.

Not like his family home, with the long anxious silences and bouts of anger. More than that. And more than the found family he had with the others of the group. 

Annie was a constant closeness, a bittersweet smile over breakfast, a comforting hand on his knee while editing his latest movie, an arm draped around his own while watching reruns, a shared smirk over an Inspector Spacetime reenactment. Annie did all that she could to make the apartment feel not so empty, and Abed was grateful, even if he wasn’t sure how to show it. So he ate and he edited and he watched and he played. And he knew the wound left by Troy was still there, but it was very subtly mending. So Abed wasn’t happy, and one small fracture of a problem might be enough to send him over the edge, but he wasn’t screaming and he wasn’t catatonic, and he wasn’t spending his days and nights locking himself up in the dreamatorium anymore. He was almost okay.

~*~

Two months into Troy’s absence and Abed was starting to feel the warmth of the apartment again. He was smiling and listing a dozen new films to try to make for the fall. He was even spending time with the group again and not just holing up in the apartment.

And then Annie suggested a movie marathon.

It wasn’t the first marathon they’d had that summer, and it more than likely wasn’t going to be the last. But snuggling up on the couch under a shared blanket with a big bowl of popcorn and one and a half romcoms into the marathon, Abed realized what exactly had changed with him and Annie.

“Do you think people mistake us for a couple too?”

Annie blushed. “What?”

“Like Gray and Sam. They’re siblings but they did so much together, those people thought they were a couple. We do everything together too. Actually, more than Gray and Sam, we’re almost always touching.”

“Maybe…I can stop, you know. With the…the touching. If it makes you uncomfortable.”

Abed thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. I’m no good with expressions. When you touch my arm or hold my hand, it’s nice. To know the expression along with it is a good one.” He paused a beat. “But it might still look like a couple.”

“Does that matter?”

“Maybe if we were actually dating anyone.”

Annie chuckled. “If that day comes, we can re-address the touching. Until then –“ Annie fumbled for Abed’s hand under the covers and held it tight, “this is fine with me.”

“Me too.”

They continued watching the movie a little while longer and Abed noted the way his whole arm tingled every time Annie’s fingers moved over his knuckles, the way he shivered inwardly when her hair nuzzled his neck, and especially the way her entire body was curved toward him and resting against his side. All these signals meant something in movies like this. Signals that she wanted more than friendship. Signals that he wanted something more too. But if she were Leia in real life, he was no Han. He would sooner be R2 or Chewie, a side character getting the occasional fan reaction but not the spotlight. Or maybe he was George Lucas, hopelessly lost behind the scenes in the worlds he was creating, but not actually joining in on any of the adventures.

When the movie ended and it was time to put in the next one, neither of them moved. Annie spoke up first. “So…you getting bored of the romcoms yet?”

“It’s only been two movies.”

“Yeah but I know that it’s not your usual wheelhouse.”

Abed smiled. “No, but it’s ok. It’s nice to just sit here and watch with you.”

Annie returned the smile. “It really is.” She leaned her head back onto his shoulder. “Thank you.”

They sat a moment longer curled up together. “One of us has to get up to put the next one in.”

With that, Annie groaned. Abed craned his neck to the side to try to see her face. She tilted her head up just enough to make eye contact. “But this is so nice. Isn’t this nice?”

“It is,” he replied, his voice sounding lower to his ears than he expected.

And then, for just a split second, Annie looked down toward his lips. The look was barely there and then gone. Involuntarily, Abed turned his body a hairsbreadth inward toward Annie, and this time, the look was unmistakable. Was this part of the change he’d been noticing? But  _ this _ wasn’t supposed to happen.  _ This _ wouldn’t have been in any script, not with a character like Annie, not with...him. 

Before he could think any further about the inconsistencies, Annie was half closing her eyes. Abed was still leaning toward her against his own regard, and then her lips were puckered, and her hand was on his chest, and Abed couldn’t think straight anymore. He leaned further still and suddenly they were kissing, hesitantly, unlike the intensity of Leia and Han under the raining paint. No, this time it was soft and tender, needy but unsure.

And then Abed’s brain started working again and he pulled back. Annie blushed and pulled back then too, fear in her wide eyes.

Abed spoke up first. “I’ll get more popcorn, you get the next movie.”

As he hurriedly stood up and started toward the kitchen, Annie turned to follow him with her eyes. They seemed to have an endless sea of questions within them, but Abed just needed to get away. His head was full of plenty of his own.

He grabbed a new bag of popcorn and started the microwave before leaning over the counter and rubbing at his temples. What was he doing? What was this? Maybe they were spending too much time together. Maybe they were becoming codependent. Maybe they just both really missed Troy and it could have happened regardless of how he felt or she felt, because they couldn’t fill that Troy-sized hole.

Abed was still wracking his brain over the multitude of questions when suddenly—“Abed?” Suddenly, Annie was directly in front of him in the kitchen entrance.

“What?” he snapped a little too harshly.

Annie swallowed. He probably hurt her feelings just then. “It’s just the buzzer. It’s been going off a little while now.”

“Oh.”

Annie turned to leave then stopped herself, a crease forming between her eyebrows. “Actually it’s not just that….I’m sorry but I can’t just ignore what happened.” Annie’s wide eyes stared desperately into his. “We kissed. We kissed and we weren’t playing around this time, Abed. Please, just talk to me.”

Abed shrugged, trying to push the conversation away. “What’s there to say? We made a mistake.”

Annie paused, then said quietly, “Is that what it was? Is that really what you think it was?”

Abed opened the microwave and stared. “It has to be” he added softly.

“Why?” she whispered back just as softly.

_ Because you’re Annie and I’m Abed _ , he wanted to say. Instead, he said, “Because…it would change too much. And too much is already different.”

Annie sighed. “Maybe….” Staring down at her feet, she took a deep breath. “I understand, Abed.” She reached for his arm, paused, then dropped her hand back to her side. “Come on, let’s watch something else. Something different.”

They walked back to the living room, Annie stopping to insert a new, less romance-filled movie into the dvd player. Only this time when she sat back down on the couch, she grabbed her own blanket and settled against the armrest. Abed pressed play and they continued to watch in silence.

That night, Abed still hugged Annie goodnight, and she still slept in the fort, but before going to sleep, Abed sent a text to Britta. Because in the effort to keep everything the same, they still ended up so different. Because maybe it was time to give that free therapy a try.


	3. Unrequited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Annie’s POV and is actually more of a rewrite of Annie’s part of “Conventions of Space and Time” than it is behind the scenes.

Annie was excited. This was her first adult vacation. Okay, so it was a science fiction convention and two nights an hour away from her apartment, but it still counted. She had loaded her suitcase with everything she could think of that she needed, including a very large handbag for any souvenir purchases, and was on the highway before her nerves had caught up to her.

Only now that they were actually looking for parking at the Hyatt, her nerves had finally found her.

“You have the reservation, Abed?”

“Yes.”

“And the tickets for the convention center?”

“With the reservation, Annie.”

“And the down payment was made already?”

“Annie…”

“And just how do you have so much better credit than us, anyway?”

“Annie!” Three voices shouted all at once. Startled, Annie hit the brakes and looked at all the eyes currently on her in the suddenly very cramped-feeling car. “Sorry, I’m just nervous…”

“We can tell,” Britta murmured from the backseat, a smirk on her face.

“Yeah, you’ve passed that empty spot twice now,” Troy piped up beside Britta.

Abed remained quiet. As Annie took a deep breath and started to park, he finally chimed in, “My dad always kept the utilities for the falafel restaurant in my name. Business isn’t great but he’s never missed a payment. It must have done something for it.”

Smiling, Annie put the car in park and glanced to her right, making eye contact with him. “That’s pretty cool.”

“Dude, that’s awesome! I practically have none at all.” Troy said wistfully.

“Better than bad!” Annie and Britta said at the same time, causing both to chuckle half-heartedly to themselves. While it was nice to find ways to connect to Britta, having just another reminder of her own problems handling money wasn’t exactly how she would have liked to do it. As her thoughts turned to finances, the nerves came back and her stomach churned.

“Abed,” she whispered as Britta and Troy happily exited and got their things, “I know we said we could afford this, but now I’m not so sure.”

“It’s ok, Annie, we handled it all together, remember?” Abed took her hand, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb. “We saved all last month for the tickets and souvenirs, and as long as we don’t get room service, the room split four ways is just $50. You said we were good, so we’re good.”

Annie sighed in relief. “You’re right. Thank you, Abed.” With another smile, and a quick squeeze of his hand, she felt much better about the whole thing.  _ Just because I’ve mishandled money in the past doesn’t mean I can’t handle it now,  _ she told herself,  _ I’ve got this _ .

“You’ve got this,” Abed added, as if hearing her thoughts, and withdrew from the car to join his friends.

“I’ve got this,” Annie whispered to herself, just to be sure. Her head was still spinning a little, but she got up anyway and joined the group.

~*~

“Troy, look! They’re airing an Inspector Spacetime marathon all weekend for the convention! We didn’t have to bring the DVDs at all!”

“Awesome! We can watch the whole time we’re not in panels!”

At the boys’ double five handshake, Annie couldn’t help but roll her eyes, catching Britta’s attention and causing her to snort.  _ Of course _ they were excited to watch the show they already own and watch all the time, even when planning to be at a convention all day the next two days. It was charming in a way, to see them fully in their element. Hopefully the event wasn’t going to be too overwhelming for her and Britta.

“Britta, Annie, come on, it’s the episode when the Spirits return!”

Annie climbed onto the bed nearest the tv with the boys, excited in spite of herself to see one of her favorite villains again. As they all scooted over to give Britta enough room to join them, however, Annie found her knees knocking against Abed’s hips, sides so close she could feel his body heat. She knew she was blushing. It had taken a little while to get used to physical signs of closeness with Abed again, after the incident over the summer. While a small touch here or a quick hand squeeze there seemed fine, this was closer to how they’d been before, always touching, always connected in some way. The nerves were back, only this time it wasn’t about money. It was entirely about how she could smell his shampoo and how on earth was she supposed to focus on the Inspector and the Spirits if she could smell his shampoo?

As much as she wanted to just lean into his side and rest her head on his shoulder, Annie instead pulled back and leaned against the headboard, tucking her legs up to meet her chin. She knew her feelings for Abed had gotten a lot stronger over the past year living together. She knew things had always been more intimate with him than the rest of the group. But she also knew since this summer that he didn’t want the same things she wanted. And as much as it hurt to once again be unrequited, she respected his need for boundaries. For familiarity.

She just wished her heart would agree with her brain sometimes.

  
  


~*~

Annie found herself alone for a lot of the first evening. Abed kept rushing ahead of everyone else to see all the sights, and Troy was attempting to catch Britta up on the decades’ worth of Inspector Spacetime history while steering her around every booth. Jeff had finally arrived, much to the amusement of Troy and Abed, and he had almost convinced her to leave the convention behind for a cozy night on the slopes with him. Old Annie would have jumped at the opportunity, but her heart just wasn’t in it. Oddly enough, it seemed the more she said no, the more determined Jeff was to win her over. What was with him and wanting what he doesn’t have? He finally relented and left for his own hotel room, emphasizing the room number one last time before he went.

So left to herself once again, Annie browsed the stalls and gaming arenas before coming to the main convention room. She was too late to get a seat for the next series big reveal, so she waited outside until it ended so she could join her friends for the walk back to the hotel. As they walked, she ended up in step with Abed near the back of the group. He seemed tired but happy.

“Have you been to the vendors yet?” He asked as they crossed the parking lot.

“No, not yet.”

“You should go tomorrow. They have a lot of fan made plushies I think you’ll really like. You could get Geneva.”

Annie smiled. “Did they have Lilly?”

“Yeah, there’s a booth in the back that has her with her Inspector as a set. It’s a little expensive, though.” Abed tilted his head toward her. “I didn’t know you were a fan of Lilly too.”

“Her arc with the Inspector, the unrequited love story….yeah, I really liked it. Even if it broke my heart in the end.”

Abed remained quiet the rest of the trip until they made it to the room. Then he paused and before entering turned to face Annie. “It’s not unrequited.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “It’s not…?” she whispered.

Abed smiled his half smile and Annie’s heart skipped a beat. “No, it’s not.”

Just as she began to lean toward him, he added, “The Inspector loved her. He was just too afraid to tell her. To make it real.” And with that, he disappeared into the room.

Annie breathed shallowly a moment outside the door, taking in what Abed said. Was he admitting….or was it just tv talk? Sometimes it was so hard to tell with him. She needed more to go on.

She entered the room and grabbed her night clothes, rushing for the free bathroom to change. She needed a moment away to think, think about not only what Abed had said, but about how Abed had been since Troy came back. He’d disassembled the Dreamatorium and had seemed like he was handling the changes in his life better than before. Maybe he was ready for something different with her. Maybe he wanted what she wanted.

As she re-entered the room, now in her night tank top and pajama shorts, she couldn’t help but notice all eyes on her. Well that’s never good. “What’s...going on, guys?”

“Troy and Britta want to sleep together.”

At Annie’s wide eyes, Troy and Britta both began arguing their case at the same time, making it impossible to follow either of them entirely.

“Not  _ together _ ”

“We only meant”

“Just you know, together”

“It’s a vacation and”

“Alright, alright!” Annie held out her hand in a stop motion. “I get it. You want to share one of the twin beds.  _ Just to sleep. _ ” As the arguing started back up again, Annie just pushed her hand out even further. “Stop! I don’t think this is a good idea. I know if it were me,” she blushed as she continued, “it’d be hard to keep something from happening, and I don’t really want to be in the room with that kind of thing, okay?”

“Just for tonight, Annie? We promise we’ll just be cuddling. ” Britta asked, trying her hardest - and oddly half succeeding - at her own Disney face. “And besides, if we just wanted to have sex, we can do that anyt-”

“Eep, enough! Um...well, I don’t know, what do you think, Abed?” Annie turned to face Abed for the first time and found he was a bit paler than usual and staring forward, eyes seeming to bore into the floor. Whether it was from the sex talk or from thinking about sharing a bed with her, she wasn’t sure. He continued to stare a moment more before finally answering.

“It’s cool. But Annie and I get the one in front of the tv.”

Oh. Oh so that’s really happening then, huh? Annie suddenly felt very underdressed. With a quick nod and a rushed good night to everyone, she dove under the covers of “their” bed and tried desperately to get her heart to stop pumping so hard.

The boys ran to the bathroom to change next, leaving Annie huddled on one bed and Britta changing on the other. 

“Thanks, Annie. I really appreciate it. I hope this doesn’t make things too awkward for you tonight?”

Annie peeked out of the covers at Britta before sitting back up and sighing. “It’ll be...fine. We...well, this summer while Troy was gone, we… I mean, it was just the bunk beds, but….” Annie was blushing hard now, but before she should continue, she heard Britta laughing. “Oh you  _ know _ , don’t you?”

“Annie, I’ve known since Troy and I had that first dinner date. But now you have to tell me about this summer!”

“It wasn’t anything. I just slept in Troy’s bunk for most of it.”

“Aww, that’s sweet!”

Annie hesitated. She knew Britta was a good friend, but could she trust her not to tell any of this? “Promise me this doesn’t go past these walls?”

Britta nodded emphatically.

“Ok, so this summer we did….kiss. But it was just once and he said he didn’t want things to change!”

Britta closed her mouth from where it had fallen open in shock. “He seems to be handling change a lot better now, don’t cha think?”

Before Annie could reply, Troy and Abed were back clad in their pajamas, gushing about the panels and heading for the tv. Britta gave Annie a knowing smile before turning to the boys. Troy was already perched at the end of Annie’s bed, ready to watch more Inspector Spacetime. Abed grabbed the remote, paused standing at the foot of the bed, then made for the headboard and climbed in right next to Annie before turning on the tv. He turned and tried to give her his usual half smile, but she could tell he felt nervous.

_ What do I do now?,  _ Annie fretted as she realized she had an opportunity she was not expecting this weekend. She could keep her distance and give him all the space he needed and keep everything the way it’s been. Or she could scoot up and try cuddling with him like they did before the kiss, and see how he responded. What’s the worst that could happen? He could scoot away and she’d get her answer and they’d go back to being just friends. That’s no big deal, she could take that. She could….

But her heart was beating too hard and he was still smiling at her like he was waiting for something and all she could do was smile back and lean against the pillows, watching Lilly lose her Inspector one more time.

~*~

Her alarm the next morning came all too soon. Groaning a bit, she reached to turn it off, but an arm was keeping her from moving far enough to get it. Suddenly, Annie was wide awake.

During their sleep, Abed had rolled over and pulled Annie against him. His arm was just over her own and his fingers were laced with hers. She was speechless, motionless. However, groans of upset were now coming from the other bed, so with some quick thought, Annie reached out with her left hand instead and flipped the alarm off.

Abed shifted beside her. She turned on her back to face him right as his eyes opened. “What time is it?” His voice was deeper than usual and a little hoarse, and it sent a chill up her spine.

“Six o clock,” she squeaked out.

“And the first panel is when?”

“Eight”

Abed closed his eyes and pulled Annie tighter toward him, his face nuzzling into her shoulder. “We don’t need to be up just yet.”

Annie melted into his caress and found herself closing her own eyes too. “No...not yet…” Unclasping their hands, she swallowed and rolled toward Abed, her hand going up to his chest as he repositioned his arm around her waist.

She had until her emergency alarm in thirty minutes to savor the moment.

~*~

The day went by surprisingly fast. Abed had met up with an online friend early on, and Annie spent most of it trying to hunt down the vendors and find that plushie set Abed had mentioned. It took nearly all her souvenir allowance but she finally got them and was happily making her way back through the convention when Troy and Abed had finished up with their photo.

“What happened to Toby?” Annie couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Things didn’t work out. He wanted me to replace Troy.” Abed then noticed the plushies. “I see you found the vendor.”

“Yes! They still had them!” Annie gushed and handed them over to Abed. 

“That’s great, Annie!” Abed smiled, a full genuine smile, as he held the plushies to his chest before handing them back.

They headed back for the hotel, walking slowly side by side and sleepily discussing all they’d seen at the con. Troy and Britta ended up far ahead, so by the time they reached the room, they were already changed and in the bed nearest the door. Annie was too tired to discuss it though, simply shrugging into her own sleepwear and crawling back under the covers of the bed by the tv. When Abed came back from changing, he did the same, and without a word, curled up beside her. Annie stole a peek at the other bed and made eye contact with Britta. Britta winked and they both smiled as their boys held them tight.

In that moment to Annie, snuggled against the warmth of his body, the excitement of the day fading into a cozy lull, it felt like coming home.


	4. Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Annie POV, this time as a little vignette during “Herstory of Dance."

Annie and Abed were back to their old habits of always touching by mid-semester, no longer feeling awkward or guilty. They attached arms in the halls, held hands during tv time, touched knees and elbows and shoulders and hugged every time they saw each other. Annie would hum to herself early in the morning while cooking pancakes, and Abed would join her cross legged on her bed to eat them before Troy was awake. It felt nice and cozy, and before long, became their new routine. Humming, pancakes, intimate breakfast for two. Then Abed would clean up the plates while she made the rest for Troy, and she’d fake bump into him and he’d blow suds at her forehead and she’d pretend to huff while he laughed. It was her very favorite way to start the day.

And then the dance happened. Shirley wouldn’t stop talking about Jessica, so Annie decided it’d shut her up if she just set Abed up too. And she hated it, and he seemed hesitant, but then he said yes anyway and what was she supposed to do, say never mind? Regardless, he wasn’t going to the dance with her. It was either Kat or Jessica. Jessica or Kat. Never Annie. So she smiled and left and pushed herself full force into planning the dance.

The dance actually turned out really nice. Abed was having a good enough time, but Annie could tell he wasn’t fully taking the date seriously, and that made it a little better. Then she spoke to Shirley and realized why. Of course. Of course he turned this into one of his tropes. He wasn’t taking this seriously at all. And despite the fact that neither she nor Shirley ended up “winning,” she felt that she kind of won. Because he wasn’t really on a date with anybody. He was on a date with television, and she could handle that.

But then he was up on stage, and he was making a big confession about a girl and her heart stilled as she waited for him to say her name. But he didn’t.

He said Rachel.

Who the heck was Rachel?

As he left the stage to talk to a quirky looking girl with glasses, Annie realized her mistake. She had thought all the touches were enough, but they weren’t. Breakfast wasn’t enough. This wasn’t enough. And she had missed her chance.


	5. Lies You Tell Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Abed’s POV, this takes place during the summer before Season 5’s “Repilot.”

Ever since the Sadie and Sophie B. Hawkins dances, Annie had been acting distant toward him. The breakfasts had stopped. The touching had stopped. Everything about her body language had suggested that she was upset, but anytime he asked she simply smiled and said nothing was wrong. Something clearly was, but if she wasn’t venturing to say what it was, he was hopeless to figure it out.

Then one morning he woke to the smell of pancakes again. Annie was once again humming and working on a large stack of them, a little sashay in her step as she moved around the kitchen.

“Mornin, Abed! Here, I’ve got more than I can eat, take some!” Annie pushed the plate toward him on the bar and went back to her humming.

“Why the pancakes?”

“Oh, I just felt like it. It’s a nice day, isn’t it?”

A quick glance outside at the overcast sky told him otherwise.

“Actually, I think it’s going to r—“

Just then, Annie’s phone chirped and all pretense of small talk was forgotten as Annie practically lunged for the device. She quickly unlocked it and scrolled, a small blush forming over her cheeks. Typing out a reply, Annie giggled.

“What’s up with your phone?”

“Oh, it’s, well I’m just talking to someone. Online. Britta showed me this site and I’ve been….” Annie put down her phone and grinned wide at Abed, her eyes sparkling. “I might have a date this evening! His name is George and he plays tennis at City College and he wants to have coffee tomorrow.”

Oh. The pancakes and the bright attitude suddenly made sense, but try as he might, somehow Abed couldn’t share in it. “That’s great, Annie,” he said instead.

“Thanks!” she gushed, as she went back to her humming and started to pour another pancake. Abed just sat there, suddenly unsure if he could finish his own.

“Morning Abed, Annie…Oh sweet, pancakes!”

~*~

It had started innocently enough. 

George didn’t end up meeting for coffee, and neither did Roy come to visit the next weekend. Chase did, but then Annie’s phone stopped chirping overnight. So the pancakes stopped, and they didn’t come back even when Kevin from Utah said he’d try to swing by if he ever had the money and time for a road trip. Then the phone stopped chirping completely and Annie was back to moping the morning away, a sad distance to her eyes.

That night, Abed told himself he started the account just to see what kind of people were on the site, just to see what Annie was obsessing over. He told himself it was just out of curiosity. He told himself the only reason he used a fake name and city was to get a heads up on the kind of guys Annie was trying to talk to. For her safety.

As he scrolled through the first page of girls, he couldn’t help but look for her. Finally, on page 3, there she was. Without thinking, he sent her a reaction. She must have been online at the time because she immediately sent back a message with her text handle. The next thing he knew, it was an hour later and he’d made an entire history for a fake person on a fake profile for a very real Annie.

The following morning, there was no humming, but Annie was already up, this time hesitantly smiling at him before tucking her hair behind her ear and excusing herself to go back to her room. A stack of pancakes was on the bar. Shortly after, his phone buzzed.

_ Last night was really fun, Brent. I’m glad you reached out to me. Hope you’re having a lovely day today : ) _

He told himself…it was in the name of breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, thank you for all the kudos and comments! I'm sorry the updates today are small. I'm trying to get through to season 5, and these just ended up being a lot shorter.


	6. Scratching an Itch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Abed’s POV, this is directly after the tag for “Cooperative Polygraphy” with snippets all the way through to "VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing.” I went a little AU at the end.

“Alright, guys, let’s move out. Britta, can you make sure Mr. Stone gets to his cab? He said he’d get the tab but I’ll just take care of it….Annie? Abed? You coming?”

Abed could hear Jeff but it sounded oddly far off, like he was listening through a fishbowl. Somewhere between Mr. Stone’s cry for shots and last call at the bar, he had found himself fairly drunk. As he stood up with the group, a bit wobbly but still standing, Annie tried – and failed – to do the same, making a mad grab for Abed’s side. This didn’t do much in favor of either of them, as his steps were equally as unsteady as he tried to rebalance for the added pressure, stumbling a step or two past where they’d began.

“Eep, sorry!” Annie frowned and attempted eye contact with Abed. “I’m maybe a little drunk.” Abed uncharacteristically giggled a little and locked his arm around Annie’s to keep steady. “Oh Abed, how did this happen?”

Blinking slowly, Abed had to think a minute before responding. “Probably from Britta and Jeff making us taste test all that rum…”

Annie snorted. “Oh right…. Well, come on, let’s get us home.” Leaning heavily on one another, they pushed their way through the stragglers cleaning up bar tabs and headed for the door.

The trip home was a blur. Britta was in the backseat with him and Annie, trying to keep a conversation going with Troy up front but Abed kept nodding in and out of it. He was too preoccupied with the scenery flashing by, his knees bumping into Annie’s, their stolen glances doing nothing but producing an onslaught of uncontrollable laughter between them. With a small sigh, Britta waved in their direction and took her stop as the two left in the backseat continued making inside jokes with their eyes. At some point Troy dragged them out of the back of the cab and they were home.

“Y’all I’m sorry but I’m too tired for anymore of this tonight. Goodnight!” With that, Troy gave them each a hug and headed for his room.

Annie pouted. “Well I’m not tired! Just…alildizzy..” She tried taking a step forward alone but then thought better of it.

“We should probably get some sleep anyway,” Abed murmured at her side. “I’m thinking these’ll be some rough hangovers tomorrow.”

“You wanna help me get to my room?”

“Sure, let’s go.” Abed wrapped his arm around Annie’s waist as she gripped his tshirt and they slowly made their way around the blanket fort. “I never get this drunk. It makes my references really…bad.”

Annie giggled into Abed’s side. “Yeah, me neither. I think I really needed it tonight because of…because of…”

Abed stopped walking, shuffling Annie forward to face him. “Yeah, I think I did too.”

A silence hung over them, dense and hard to break. While still too intoxicated to fully grasp the gravity of what had transpired after Pierce’s funeral, they both were still feeling the loss, knowing what Troy’s absence would leave behind for them, knowing the hole it left before was a pinprick in comparison to sailing the world.

Finally, Annie looked directly into Abed’s eyes, raw pain shining in them, and said softly, “Promise me you won’t….that you won’t leave too. Not yet.”

Abed replied just as softly, “I promise.”

“Because I couldn’t take it. Not you both, but especially not you…. I couldn’t—“

“Especially not me? Whaddoyoumean?”

“I just—” With a blush, Annie continued, “I need you here, Abed. With me.”

Abed swallowed and swayed a minute, his gaze dropping to Annie’s lips. “I’m with you.”

Annie’s mouth curled into a smile before she carefully bit down on her lower lip, the silence suddenly thundering against them. Abed’s heart quickened as he realized the only thing he wanted to be doing in that silence. He leaned forward just as Annie did the same and their lips met in a furious kiss, teeth slightly scraping at first, messy and free of all abandon. Annie’s arms reached up under Abed’s and grasped at his shoulders, while Abed’s hands raked through the hair at the nape of Annie’s neck. With a quick gasp for air, Annie breathed Abed’s name, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

Not thinking of anything else but Annie, he clutched at her face and kissed her with a passion he didn’t even realize existed within him. Stumbling forward a step, Annie took his cue and stepped backward, reaching around to tug at the front of his shirt, tug him toward her, toward more kissing, toward her bedroom door. Abed took another step, kisses now extending to Annie’s jaw and neck, Annie panting a little as she continued back. All that mattered in the moment was getting closer, closer to Annie.

A little warning began to form in the back of his mind but he took another step anyway.

The warning grew a tiny bit as Annie stumbled back and had to grab at the wall for balance.

Finally, amidst the fog in his brain, the alarm bells sounded as Annie had to pull away to swing the door open.

“Maybe we shouldn’t…”

Annie looked up from fiddling with the door, eyes wide with surprise. “What do you…no, we definitely should.”

“No, I,” Abed started, the words forming slowly, “I really think we shouldn’t. We’re drunk. This…this is a mistake.”

“Abed, no, please, I need— ”

“You need rest. So do I.”

Annie started to protest and then swayed a little on the spot and sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Smiling, she added more to herself, “I hope I remember this tomorrow. I need to remember this tomorrow…”

Abed returned the smile. “Maybe we will.”

With a click of the door, Abed turned around and trudged back to the fort. He made quick work of dumping his clothes and putting on pajamas before throwing himself onto the bed. But before he could get too comfortable, a soft buzzing played from his jeans pocket. Abed let out a slight groan and grabbed blindly for the phone, noting the message was from Britta.

_ “Just checking you guys made it home safe?” _

Abed sent a quick thumbs up and started to put the phone down but couldn’t. Mindlessly, he scrolled in his contacts to Edison.

“ _ Are you still up?” _

Why? Why is he texting her? Did he not just stop them from—

_ “I am. What’s up?” _

_ “I’m really drunk, I don’t even know what I wanted to say” _

_ “Come on, what’s on your mind?” _

Before he could stop himself, Abed responded.

_ “I don’t want to forget this tomorrow. I was wondering if I asked you out on a date if you would say yes.” _

Abed stared as the message showed it was read, then typing dots appeared and disappeared. Seconds ticked by slowly, his need for sleep nudging at his brain as he impatiently gripped at the phone. One full minute later, just as Abed was beginning to drift to sleep, the phone buzzed again.

_ “I would. You should ask me again sober :)” _

Smiling, Abed turned off the screen and was immediately lulled into a blissful sleep.

~*~

“Dude. Last night was ridiculous.”

Abed slowly became aware of his surroundings, the light glowing through the blankets from the windows in the living room, drool crusted against the side of his face, Troy at the fort entrance shaking his head…and a phone just barely out of his hand. Blearily, Abed nodded at Troy and reached for the phone. Why was it out? Did he.

Oh.

He did. He was texting while out of his mind.

Abed quickly shuffled out of the fort to sit alongside Troy at the kitchen stools. The cereal and milk were already out and Troy was pouring himself a bowl. As Troy happily relayed everything that had transpired at the bar – to be this animated, he must have chosen not to taste test rum with the others – Abed scrolled to his messages.

_ “I would. You should ask me again sober :)” _

“Uh oh.” Abed stared at the text, then up at Troy. “Troy, I may have just shifted the paradigm of our entire group last night.”

Troy’s eyes widened. “What did I miss?”

“Annie. I texted Annie.”

“What? You were  _ with _ Annie, why would you text her?”

To answer, Abed simply handed the phone to Troy. Troy’s eyes bulged as he saw the messages. He whispered, “I knew it!” as he scrolled up. However, his wide-eyed stare furled to one of confusion. “Wait…these say they’re going to a Rachel Ellis. Who’s Rachel Ellis?”

Now it was Abed’s turn to stare wide eyed in shock. He grabbed the phone back from Troy, stared some more, then frowned. “Oh….oh no.”

His shock was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Troy snickering. “Buddy, how drunk were you last night?” Troy asked as he shook his head and went back to work on his cereal.

“Drunk enough to make out with Annie.”

As if on sitcom cue, Troy spit out his cereal and spluttered at Abed. “You did what?”

“I—”

Just then, Annie’s door opened, so Abed closed his mouth and went back to staring at his phone. Troy opened and closed his mouth for a moment before wiping his face and whispering “more later”, then returning to his cereal.

“Morning,” Annie croaked out, unlike her usual morning self. She slumped over to the coffee maker and started working on a pot. Abed started to get up to get himself a cereal bowl, but without even looking up, Annie had grabbed him a bowl and spoon and was wordlessly sliding it to him. As Abed reached for the cereal, Troy waggled his eyebrows at him. In response, Abed simply pursed his lips, rolled his eyes, and continued to pour his cereal.

They ate in silence for a few minutes as Annie watched the coffee. Once it finished, she poured her cup and started out of the kitchen. As she passed the boys, she very briefly made eye contact with Abed, blushed, and then looked away, continuing to her room. Troy mouthed, ‘Dude!’ Abed tilted his head in confusion. Sighing, Troy whispered, “Go for it. With Annie.”

Abed whispered back, “What? No, I can’t. It’d mess up the whole group dynamic.”

“I’m serious, go for it! I see you two every day. You are closer than just friends, I promise you.”

“But—”

“Nuh uh. No. Don’t overthink this, man.”

“But Rachel.”

Troy opened his mouth to say something in return then stopped himself. Instead, he said, “Oh, right.”

“Right.”

“Maybe….it’s best to ignore it. Just for now. I’m sure she’ll understand, I mean, you were pretty drunk. I think she’ll get the messages were a fluke.”

Abed considered before nodding in agreement. “I hope so.”

“But seriously…go for Annie.”

“Okay.” Lie. “Okay, I’ll think about it.” Lie. Well, not really, he’d definitely be thinking about it. But he knew it wasn’t something he could do. Not sober. Not now. Despite everything, he was still too afraid to make it real.

~*~

First it was Bloodlines of Conquest. Then it was the pretty redhead he learned sign language for. What was next? It was intense and exhilarating and none of it lasted long enough. None of it fully scratched the itch. Abed knew he was a moment’s notice from panicking, one shrill high-pitched screech just down his throat if he only stopped long enough to realize he was panicking. So he kept moving, kept getting obsessed with things, with people.

But both Bloodlines of Conquest and the pretty redhead were lost to him in the same moment. Thanks to Britta, he was left without an obsession to keep his mind off the absence in his life, off the feelings of loneliness, off the feelings he was having that he most definitely shouldn’t be having for the roommate that was left.

As he left the cafeteria, he noticed a familiar figure watching coat check.

*“Hello.”

“What happened to you?”

“Nothing. You never called.”

“I know. I had some stuff I was going through.  I’m sorry.”

Rachel frowned. “The reason you were drinking in the first place?”

“That, and * I can be inconsiderate…and a lot of other things.”

“Me too. I guess I could have put in some effort. Would you like to go to lunch sometime?”

“No, I’d like to go to dinner. Now.”

“I can do that.”

~*~

If he could just keep going, keep going and pushing and hitting all the familiar tropes and sync his entire existence to this one person, maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t leave too.

~*~

*“I don’t really know how girlfriends work, but I don’t think you have one anymore.”

It was time for the big gesture, the moment in the rain where he confessed his feelings and the music swelled and he was running down the hall to find her when he saw…Annie. Annie, sniffling as she tried to hide her tears in her locker. Annie with those Disney eyes and he came skidding to a stop beside her. Without saying a word, she hugged him, her tears getting on his shoulder.

“Oh Abed, what if we have to move? I just don’t think we’re gonna have enough to keep the apartment, and I can’t stand the thought of losing it too.”

Abed gripped her by both arms. “It’ll be ok. We won’t lose it. We can’t.” As she mumbled something against his shoulder, he pulled her back so their faces were almost touching and a spark shot down his stomach. He swallowed but didn’t lose his resolve. He wasn’t going to lose the one place he felt like home, the one place that still felt like Troy. “Look. I’ve got some falafel money saved up from school breaks. I was gonna try going to Comic Con but…this is more important. That should get us through to summer, and then I can go back to work with my Dad. It’ll be tough, but we can make it. We  _ will _ make it, Annie.”

Annie stared at him a moment before bursting into even more tears and rushing to give him a tight hug.

“What? Annie, I said we  _ will _ make it, we  _ will. _ ”

Annie pulled back, still crying but smiling at the same time. “I know, I’m just…happy tears, Abed. These are happy tears.” Annie hugged him again, this time softer with her head nuzzled into his chest. “Thank you.”

As she left his arms to finish at her locker and wipe at her face, Abed saw Rachel in the distance getting into her own locker. The stunt guy he’d hired with a watering can was just around the doorway, eyeing Abed silently for his cue. Abed shook his head, making the cutting motion just below his neck. Slumping at the shoulders, stunt guy hung his head and walked past Rachel, who took note of the watering can and looked around wildly before meeting Abed’s gaze. They stood there for a moment, feet away and just gazing at each other. Abed knew if they were going to make it work, he had to make the gesture, show her she was worth fighting for.

Just then, Annie closed her locker and started to walk the other way. “So…how did it go with Rachel?”

Abed looked toward her and started walking beside her. She seemed nervous, like maybe she didn’t really want to talk about it. Maybe she felt obligated to ask. “Fine. We’re fine.” Abed turned to look behind him but Rachel was already gone.

“Oh.” Annie said, still walking at a reserved pace. “Well that’s…great. Great for you guys.”

“Great,” Abed said absently.

Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Text after asterisks was a direct transcription from the episode. I wasn’t sure how to work in the actual Rachel part without it. None of this belongs to me, I am only borrowing!


	7. Isn't Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter for this fic! Still in Abed’s POV, it changes a particular scene in “Basic Sandwich.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to use a lot of the original dialogue, but in a way it felt like it worked better this time, because this scene was more about fighting to break free of the script as it was: a community college show, ending because the school lost its reason for existing. Instead, it powered through and won and gave itself another day, another season. So I broke free through the dialogue to tell my own story within it and change the outcome one more time. ☺ Still, I own nothing!

“Anything in there?”

“Just spider webs and beanbag chairs.”

“Oh don’t cry. The importance of lumbar support hadn’t…”

“It’s not that. It’s just even if we do save Greendale, which Greendale will we be saving? First Pierce dies, then Troy leaves. Now people are…”

“Getting married?”

Annie looked down, as if ashamed.

Abed tilted his head in confusion. “I thought you said you weren’t in love with Jeff.”

“I’m not.” Annie wiped at the tears before they ran down her face.

“Then why is the engagement making you so sad?”

“Because…” Annie pursed her lips and looked to the side. “Because he can just do something like that and it changes everything and the whole group dynamic can just fall apart and suddenly that’s fine with everyone else…and it isn’t fair.”

“Fair?”

“Abed, you’ve always told me how much you can’t stand to see things change. What makes it…what makes it okay for Jeff and Britta to do something like that and not…us?” Disney eyes shone up at him in the dimness and Abed realized he was steeling himself. He knew in a lot of ways it felt like an ending, like this moment was going to be a final moment in a long line of moments if he let it run its course on its own. So he steeled himself, and decided for once the writers be damned, he was going to make his own change.

Abed stepped toward her.  “Annie, look, I don’t know people, but I know TV. When characters feel like the show they’re on is ending, their instinct is to spin off into something safer, in Jeff and Britta’s case, something that would last six episodes and have a lot of bickering about tweezers and gluten, starring them and an equally waspy brunette couple with a title like  _ Better with my Worse Half _ or  _ Awfully Wedded  _ or  _ Tying the Not _ , but “knot” is spelt without a k, or  _ #Couple People Problems _ …”

“Abed.”

“And every episode, you get…”

“Abed, stop developing.”

“Sorry…. The point is, their spinoff is just a part of a story that’s ending. But the sooner we find that treasure, the faster the Jeff-Britta pilot falls apart. We aren’t like that.” Abed swallowed before continuing, a new flutter growing in his chest. “The way I see it, our story is more of a developing will-they, won’t-they that only works if the show continues. This show, Annie, it isn’t just their show. This is our show, and it’s not over.”

“But Abed…” Annie stepped a hair closer this time, fresh tears brimming her eyes. “I already know the answer to the will-they, won’t they. You made it perfectly clear. You chose Rachel.”

Did he? He remembered back to the big gesture that didn’t happen, the hug, the tears, the long stare as he decided what was worth saving. He never said. He never set it straight.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“What?”

“Rachel. It didn’t work out. I didn’t choose her.” Abed moved to touch Annie’s cheek. “If I have to be the lead, if I’m the Inspector, I don’t think you’re Geneva. I don’t think you’ve been Geneva for a long time. I think you’re Lilly.”

Annie dipped her head toward his touch, closing her eyes. As she opened them again, she stared straight into his, whispering, “Unrequited?”

Abed smiled. “I told you before, it’s not unrequited. He was just afraid to make it…real.”

Annie swallowed, trembling a little. “Is he still?”

With that, Abed took a breath and leaned the remaining gap between them, kissing Annie not with the hesitation of the second kiss or the sloppiness of the third, but with the guile and passion of that first kiss under the paint, strong and sure. His right hand still gripping her cheek, he dipped his left around her waist, deepening the kiss as Annie clutched fervently around his back and shoulders. If there were music, it would have swelled. Fireworks would have detonated. He kissed her, and she kissed him, and they kissed until they ran out of breath.

As they finally parted, Annie was once again panting, just like that first time. Only this time, Abed continued to hold her close. “Not afraid anymore.” Annie beamed, immediately pulling him into a second kiss, smiling against his lips. She was flushed so her warmth radiated against him, and he was reminded of two summers ago when he first knew Annie felt like home. When he was too afraid of what that meant.

“What is taking them so long? We need to keep moving! Guys, have you found—“

Abed broke away from the kiss just as Jeff skidded to a stop around the corner facing them. He looked at Jeff, who seemed shocked and maybe just a bit hurt. Annie slid out of his grasp just then and cleared her throat. “Um, we found something, just not treasure.”

Abed smirked and met her eyes before looking back to Jeff. “You’re right, Jeff, we should keep moving. We have a show to save.” Wiggling his eyebrows at Jeff, Abed headed for the hall. As he passed him, he heard him groan.

“Not a show, Abed.”

“Not an ending show!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to everyone that read this! It’s been a decade since I tried to write anything fictional, but I had a really good time with it. If anyone has any ideas for a sequel or anything else, feel free to reach out to me. There's a few ideas still swirling around my head :)


End file.
